Senate bans red light cameras (AUDIO)

The state senate votes to ban the use of red light cameras, even in cities that have them.

The ban is part of a larger measure dealing with numerous traffic safety issues, added by St. Louis Senator Jim Lembke, who says he’s been working on the issue for three years and has heard from angry citizens from all parts of Missouri.

Lembke thinks the cameras are all about generating revenue for cities that are writing ordinances legalizing them that violate the state constitution.

But Kansas City Senator Yvonne Wilson says this is about local control and the legislature should stay out. She says she feels safer on the streets because of the cameras and argues local jurisdictions know what’s best whether the cameras work.

But Lembke says a recent state supreme court decision on the way cameras are operated and on the way fines are collected has cast uncertainty over the entire business.

Wilson was one of only eight Senators to vote against the ban. Lembke was one of 23 to vote for it. The bill is headed to the House, where Lembke hopes his amendment sticks.